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The sound on The Lonesome Jubilee was a departure from Mellencamp's previous albums and included many traditional folk and country instruments in order to make his audience aware of the "once-familiar social landscape" of folk music. The risk of making music counter to the mainstream of rock music paid off with the album's success. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard Albums chart. Six singles were released from the album: Paper in Fire (#9 Hot 100, #1 Rock), Hard Times for an Honest Man (#10 Rock), Cherry Bomb (#8 Hot 100, #1 Rock, #12 AC), The Real Thing (#3 Rock), Check it Out (#14 Hot 100, #3 Rock), Rooty Toot Toot (#61 Hot 100, #7 Rock).